New resident drivers

An overview of New Zealand's road rules

Are you planning to drive in New Zealand? We have some different driving rules and behaviours to those used in your home country. New Zealand's road rules are enforced by the Police and there are penalties if you do not follow them. So before you begin driving in New Zealand, read this brochure to help you drive safely on our roads.

Driver licence

You must have a current and valid driver licence to drive in New Zealand.

1. You can use a current and valid driver licence from another country* or an International Driving Permit (IDP) for up to one year.
2. If you are planning to stay and drive in New Zealand for more than one year, you should apply for a New Zealand driver licence as soon as possible after your arrival. Contact 0800 822 422 to find out how to apply.

* If your driver licence is not in English, you should have an IDP or English translation of your licence so that the New Zealand Police can read the details on your licence.

Before you drive

Before you drive in New Zealand, get as much information as possible about our road rules and driving conditions.

People who are new to New Zealand often find the following road rules and situations the most difficult: driving on the left, roundabouts, giving way to other road users, merging on motorways, watching out for walkers and cyclists, adjusting to different speed zones and parking.

It is important to follow these three steps:

1. Read this brochure - become familiar with the local rules and driving behaviours.
2. Be a passenger - ask someone who is used to driving in New Zealand to take you for a drive to explain some of the road rules and driving behaviours.
3. Your first drive - ask someone to be your passenger for your first drive or arrange some driving courses with a driving instructor. There are also advanced driving courses available (Street Talk and AA Defensive Driving courses) which will teach you how to drive safely in New Zealand.

NOTE: Safety belts - in New Zealand you and your passengers must always wear a safety belt.

You can be fined for not wearing your safety belt. Children under five years must be restrained with an appropriate approved restraint (ie baby capsule, child car-seat or booster seat.)

Drive to the conditions

It is important that you do not exceed the speed limits (see Speed limits below), BUT you should also drive according to the road and the driving conditions.

Many New Zealand roads are narrow, winding or hilly which reduces your ability to see what is coming up ahead. Some are unsealed and dusty, particularly in rural areas, where you may see farm animals being moved along rural roads.

The weather in winter can make the roads slippery and icy and can also make it difficult to see oncoming traffic. In New Zealand it is not uncommon for the weather to be unpredictable, even in summer. Adjust your driving to the conditions you are experiencing, including reducing your speed - it is much better to slow down than take risks with speed. For example, if you are on open road where the speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour (km/h) but the road is slippery or the weather is foggy, drive at a safe speed which could be lower than the speed limit.

In all these situations, drive at a speed that is safe for the conditions.

Follow other vehicles at a safe distance. A useful guide is the 'two-second rule':

• Watch the vehicle in front of you pass something like a sign, a tree or a power pole
• See if you can count 'one thousand and one, one thousand and two before you pass the same object. If you cannot, slow down.

If you are travelling slower than the speed limit and there are vehicles behind you that want to pass, pull over as soon as it is safe to let them pass.

When driving at night, put your headlamps on full beam when street lighting is not adequate (usually outside the city), but not when other vehicles are coming towards you or following you. Some cars are fitted with fog lamps. These should only be used when visibility is severely reduced, but not in clear conditions.

Keep to the left

Remember, in New Zealand we drive on the left side of the road.

If you are used to driving on the right, you need to remember to:

• look over your right shoulder for traffic coming from behind; and
• use all your car mirrors to check that it is safe before you move into traffic, change lanes or pass other vehicles
• if you are driving in two or more lanes of traffic, keep in the left lane as much as possible. Use the lane(s) closer to the centre line only to pass other vehicles or to turn right.

Keep reminding yourself to keep left, and be extra careful when you are driving in rural areas where there is less traffic.

Roundabouts

Be careful at roundabouts - in New Zealand they may be different from roundabouts in your home country. For example, if you usually drive on the right-hand side of the road and drive around roundabouts in an anticlockwise direction, in New Zealand you will be driving in the opposite direction from the one you are used to! Remember, drive on the left-hand side of the road and drive around roundabouts in a clockwise direction.

At a New Zealand roundabout, you must:

• before you reach the roundabout, look for signs and road markings (such as arrows) that guide you to the correct lane
• before entering a roundabout, signal:
  - left - if you intend to leave the roundabout by the first exit
  - right - if you intend to leave the roundabout more than half way round
• let all vehicles that are crossing your path from your right go first; only join the roundabout when the way is clear for you
• if you're going straight ahead, don't signal on entry - signal as you pass the exit before the one you intend taking
• at multi-lane roundabouts, you need to approach and enter the roundabout in the correct lane for where you intend to exit.

            

GIVE WAY and STOP

Two important signs you will see are GIVE WAY and STOP.

When you see the GIVE WAY sign, slow down and be ready to stop. Let all other traffic go first, except vehicles that have stopped at a STOP sign. Do not drive on until it is safe for you and all other traffic.

The STOP sign means you must stop completely for all other traffic and drive on only when it is safe.

At intersections that do not have GIVE WAY or STOP signs or traffic lights, the general rules are:

• if you're turning, give way to all vehicles that are not turning
• in all other situations, give way to vehicles crossing or coming from your right.

Joining other traffic safely or 'merging'

When two lanes of traffic become a single lane or you are joining traffic, this is called merging. It is important to be a courteous driver especially when you are merging.

When you need to merge with other traffic, remember to:

• share the road - be polite and give other vehicles room to merge, without holding up the traffic
• treat the traffic like a 'zip' - let one vehicle from the other lane go ahead of you
  
• when leaving a motorway, signal left early and move into the left-hand-lane - look out for other traffic in your mirrors and over your shoulder.
  

Speed limits

Every road in New Zealand has a speed limit. The actual speed limit depends on the type, use and condition of the road - so the speed limit in a suburban street is likely to be 50 km/h, while the usual speed limit on a motorway is 100 km/h.

    
The maximum speed limit on the open road (including most motorways) is 100 km/h.

The maximum speed limit you can travel at is 50 km/h.

The New Zealand Police are strict on drivers who speed. If you are caught, you could face some severe fines and penalties.

Parking

New Zealand has many different parking systems, depending on where you drive.

In small towns, parking is usually free, but you may have to pay for parking in larger towns and cities. Local information centres can tell you more about their parking systems, but here is a general guide to the most common ones:

• Time-limited roadside parking: you can only park for free for a certain length of time or at certain times of the day
• Parking meters: you pay for your parking time by putting money into a meter beside the parking place
• 'Pay and display' parking: you buy a ticket from a machine for the time you want to park, and put the ticket on your vehicle dashboard
• Parking buildings: you drive into a multi-level car parking building and pay for the service - either with a 'pay and display' system or as you leave.

There are two main types of roadside parking signs:

White signs with red writing and borders, which apply every day

Blue signs with white writing, which apply every day, 8 am to 6 pm, except New Zealand public holidays.

Here are some common parking signs:

No stopping at all times

No stopping at specific times of the day.

No parking at all times

NB: You must not park or stop your vehicle on the right-hand side of the road except in a one-way street.

Walkers and cyclists

When driving, it is important to look out for people walking on to the road - especially at pedestrian crossings, where walkers take priority over cars.

A white diamond painted on the road means there is a pedestrian crossing ahead.

• Slow down and be ready to stop.
• Stop for walkers at traffic lights and on both sides of the pedestrian crossing, unless that crossing is divided by a raised traffic island.

Watch out for walkers and cyclists at other places too, such as at schools and bus stops, around parked cars, near roadside stalls and when you are turning into a driveway. You may also see 'courtesy crossings' in urban areas, usually made of bricks or paving. Please be courteous and allow walkers to cross.

When you are walking

When you want to walk across a road, remember to look right first, then left, then right again to make sure it is safe.

If there are traffic signals at the intersection, there may be road crossing system to help you. Press the button at the roadside and a green 'man' light on the other side of the road will tell you when it is safe to walk.

Traffic signals

What do New Zealand's traffic signals mean?

You must stop

Stop unless you are so close you cannot stop safely.

Go as long as it is safe. If you are turning remember to give way to people who are crossing the road on a 'Walk' light.

If you are travelling in the direction of the arrow, you can go, provided it is safe.

Obey the road rules

The New Zealand Police are very strict on drivers who drive dangerously or break our driving laws. If you are caught, you may have to pay a fine (up to thousands of dollars) or face even more severe penalties like losing your licence, your car or even going to prison.

Common traffic offences that incur fines and penalties include:

• driving faster than the speed limit
• driving without an appropriate current licence
• failing to produce a licence when requested by a policeman at the roadside
• driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs
• not wearing a safety belt
• driving a vehicle that does not have a current warrant of fitness, is not registered or is not safe
• driving dangerously
• not stopping after a crash where someone has been injured or killed.

For more information

Remember, this is just a general guide to New Zealand's road rules and driving practices. You can access more information at www.landtransport.govt.nz or phone us free on 0800 699 000. You can also buy copies of The New Zealand Road Code (which covers all New Zealand's traffic rules) from most book stores.

Page created: 30 August 2005